Rick Mayer
Digital ProducerI’m the online producer for Health News Florida, a collaboration of public radio stations and NPR that delivers news about health care issues.
This is an important position at WUSF. In 2019, the typical U.S. family spent about 11 percent of its annual income on health care, so it stands to reason issues of cost, quality, access and innovation are consequential to all Floridians. Then COVID-19 came along, and the weight of these matters gained exponentially. I take our reporting on these topics quite seriously, as I’m sure you do, too.
Literally growing up in newsrooms and a little serendipity along the way prepared me well for the post. Here’s the abridged version: I’m a Tampa guy, graduating from H.B. Plant High and thrust into the world with my USF degree rolled tightly in hand. From there, it was three mostly sleepless decades as an editor at The Tampa Tribune, then developing and managing an online journal serving physician executives. There’s also my side job editing a statewide health magazine.
And being married to a longtime hospital nurse/case manager helps; dinner conversation often gives me a feel of what’s happening on the front lines. The good and not-so-good.
Of course, my time isn’t always spent flailing in the health news vortex. You’re actually more likely to find me breaking down the Bucs, Bulls or Bolts after a game, taking Oodle the poodle to the dog park or tinkering the backroom piano while vicariously reliving my former life as a musician. (Remember, kids: Parents of percussionists have plenty of patience. Plenty!)
Contact Rick on X @rmayer2361 or by email at Mayer1@wusf.org.
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TGH partners with Iron Chef Geoffrey Zakarian to elevate patient meals, part of a broader plan to deliver healthy, convenient and actually tasty food. -
Hogan died last week at age 71. The Pinellas-Pasco medical examiner ruled the official cause of death as a heart attack and added that the longtime wrestler previously had leukemia and atrial fibrillation. -
The officer was shot in the leg and was in good spirits after, police said. The shooter fled across the street toward the rear gate of Busch Gardens and was found dead. -
Tampa General Hospital and AdventHealth Orlando continued lengthy reigns as best in their respective regions on the U.S. News & World Report “Best Hospitals” list. -
Tampa set the record on Sunday, and the extreme heat could continue through Tuesday with heat indexes of 112 or higher in some areas. -
The six-year curriculum creates a seamless path from science degree at the STEM-focused university to professional medical training at the Orlando College of Osteopathic Medicine. -
First responders were called to Hogan’s Clearwater Beach residence about a cardiac arrest. Hogan was later pronounced dead at Morton Plant Hospital, police said. -
For the first time, there is an admission fee for open practices at the team's training facility across from Raymond James Stadium. Practices start at 8:30 a.m. -
The insurer has notified about 31,000 clients they may lose in-network access to the Broward health network if a new deal isn't reached by Sept. 1. For now, no appointments after that date are being made. -
The approach, which mimics how the body responds to a virus, could pave the way for a universal cancer vaccine.
